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The manufacturing process of Polyisobutylene in Kothari, Manali is based on Cosden Technology, USA. The state-of-the-art plant was commissioned in March 1990 with modern equipments. Finer control of all processes is possible through the centrally controlled DCS system.

The plant started with a capacity of 5500 TPA of Polyisobutylene. Over a period of time, the plant capacity has been increased to 11000 TPA of Polyisobutylene using in-house expertise and de-bottlenecking. With increase in the demand of Polyisobutylene, a similar capacity of another 11000 TPA plant was installed within the plant premises and was commissioned in early 2008. The trained manpower helped smooth commissioning of plant in record time with on spec product.

This integrated Polyisobutylene complex is capable of manufacturing different grades of Polyisobutylene and the overall capacity stands at 22000 MT/Annum. Kothari Polyisobutylene complex is having a fully automated lab to track the product quality on a continuous basis. The qualified and trained manpower supports manufacturing & troubleshooting apart from being actively involved in R&D and Product development activities.

ISO 9000 certification of first unit was obtained in the year 1994 and it was upgraded to ISO 9001:2000 in the year 2001. Similarly, ISO 14001 certification was obtained in the year 2002 and was upgraded to ISO 14001:2004 in the year 2005.

The major sections of this Polyisobutylene Manufacturing Complex includes.

» Feed Preparation Unit

» Reactor Section

» Neutralization Section

» Distillation

» Product Storage

Feed Preparation Unit

Kothari feed preparation unit is versatile and capable of handling C4 hydrocarbon from different sources. This section is designed to take care of trace sulfur that comes along with C4. The free moisture is effectively removed in this section.

Reactor Section

The polymerization of isobutylene is a liquid phase reaction catalyzed by Aluminum Trichloride (catalyst). It is an exothermic reaction where heat removal and maintaining reaction temperature is very critical. This requirement is met by using qualified and trained Process Engineers operating DCS.

Neutralization Section

The reactor effluent is effectively washed using properly engineered Neutralizers. Sampling adheres to ISO Procedure and the highest standards of quality are maintained.

Distillation Section

The polymer stream is passed through a series of distillation columns to make on spec product. All columns have sophisticated internal packing/trays that speak for quality.

SPC/SQC monitoring helps to sustain the quality of product and process capability.

Product Storage

The purified product is taken to the product storage tanks where it is stored under a blanket of nitrogen to prevent deterioration of product color.